Luca Göttlicher: Third race, first podium at Most – a first for MV

Luca Göttlicher was still missing from the Supersport class starting grid at the Euro Moto premiere at the Sachsenring. In Brno, the 19-year-old from Schwifting in Upper Bavaria finished in 5th and 7th place. At the third round of the season in Most, the Team LJ Racing rider took third place on the podium on Saturday with his MV Agusta F3 800 RR; on Sunday, however – like all his rivals in the class – he was denied a potentially comparable result following two race cancellations and the absence of a third race.

Thoughts with the injured

In a subsequent interview with SPEEDWEEK.com, however, his thoughts were first and foremost with the riders involved in the crashes. “Well, first of all, I wish the affected riders a speedy recovery – a situation like that is a right pain for any rider. Marcel Brenner crashed right in front of me; it looked very, very serious. Still, it’s a shame it wasn’t enough to score points. Otherwise, that would have been an extra bonus on top for me. That’s how I’d wanted to round off the race weekend and had planned to finish third again. Nobody would have thought that a second place might even have been possible.”

Having missed the two races at the Sachsenring due to injury, Luca Göttlicher naturally fell behind in the championship standings straight away. When asked what was still possible, he said: “As we’re still a very small team, it’s important for us at the moment to focus on developing further. The bigger teams are, of course, a bit ahead of us in that respect. Naturally, we’re happy to take the smaller successes as they come, and at the end of the year we’ll see where we stand in the standings. I’m currently in eighth place, which, I’d say, is already very good after just my second race weekend.”

No underdog with MV

Although he’s riding the MV Agusta F3 800 RR – a so-called underdog bike, a label he’s now debunked, or rather a splash of colour for the brand in the field – he sees his immediate future in the same set-up. “That’s certainly what we’ve planned for – in other words, depending on the negotiations, there’ll be a second year for us. This year, we first need to gel as a team and see how we get on with one another. It’s really important for next year that we have the full team without any personnel changes, so that we really have a bond and everyone feels at ease.”

On the subject of the MV, he added: “I always like to hold back a bit on this, because, well, you never know. But let me put it this way: we were competitive at Most and are hoping for the best at Oschersleben too. We’ve already got some data on that, so I’ll be putting that into practice accordingly. I reckon I’ll be mixing it up among the top seven.”

Regarding his injuries, which forced him to miss the Sachsenring weekend, he explained that he’d sustained his first (shoulder) injury during winter training in Valencia. However, this wasn’t with the MV or on the racetrack, but at the end of a test day whilst riding a road bike on a rain-soaked road in the immediate vicinity. During a test at Oschersleben, he had another minor crash – this time on the track – and injured his forearm and knee in the process. “The injuries did set me back a bit, but now I’m feeling absolutely fine.”